Visitors

I enjoy going to art shows and photography exhibits in Second Life. I have joined several art and photography groups, so I get notices just about every day, so I usually visit two or three per day. Many times I am able to strike up a conversation with someone who is visiting the exhibit, or many times it is the artist or photographer having that exhibit, and if they seem interested, I invite to see my work some time.

There have been several who have come to see my photography exhibits at Sheba and other places. I always invite them to make comments. I have learned a great deal from their expertise. I am trying to learn not to be so thin-skinned when the critique seems to be a little tough. Many times they question me about how I achieved certain looks, and some have said that they wished they could achieve that certain look. Of course comments like that make me feel good.

Then there may be times that the more expert photographer will say what he or she thinks would make the picture better. Perhaps a little more saturation, some burning around the edges, or more contrast.

There have been several people from Sheba Island who have visited. Some of them came to my larger "grand opening of Sheba" exhibit which lasted about three weeks. Many times I invite them over to see the T.S.T.C. student photo exhibit, and they are always amazed at the beautiful campus.

This last Friday I was in the Student Gallery above our classrooom, which is supposed to be a private area. I was a little surprised to notice on my on-screen radar that someone else was on the island. It was not anyone I had remembered seeing there before. (By the way, my friend Lowri Mills gave me the SL perfect HUD, which lists the avatars that are in the area....up to about 90 meters, I believe. This has really helped to know who is behind me, or in the area.)

Anyway, I had just started to do the critiques when I noticed this unfamiliar name. I noticed according to the numbers that the avatar was coming closer. Finally, he was near me and I turned around and introduced myself when he said, "Hello." He introduced himself as someone on the administrative staff from T.S.T.C. in Waco. He said he had not seen the student photography exhibit yet. It had been a while since he had visited the area, he said.

He looked at the exhibits and was interested to see my work, so I showed him my phography for Unit 1. He thought that the Gaylord Texan must be a beautiful place and wanted to take his wife there sometime. He said that he especially liked my photo of the shadow of the lamp on the "pavers," or tiles. That was a little surprising to me, because I thought it was such a simple subject, just the shadow on the tiles. I guess I thought some of the more complicated compositions were better, but I am learning that simiplicity can be compelling.

He also said that T.S.T.C. in Waco has some nice equipment for people wanting to develop games. I understood him to say that Conoco had donated a super
computer that could control other computers, so that rendering of scenes can be done quickly. He also said that they have some Motion Capture (MoCap) equipment, and that was really fascinating to me. He said that the course is being offered this summer, so it might possibly be offered in summers to come.

Anyway, it was a very interesting visit with a V.I.P. from T.S.T.C. in Waco and I was just amazed that he would be that interested to spend a few minutes talking to a student about photograpy. It was very encouraging. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time...to receive a word of encouragement.

Digital Darkroom of Photoshop

I actually did enjoy doing the Photoshop processes of adding adjustment layers for Curves, Saturation, and adding a radial gradient overlay to darken the corners a bit. It was amazing what just a few changes could make for all my pictures.

The Curves made it possible to lighten up the areas so that the people with dark skin were more visible. I noticed that it was not an "S" curve but more of a "C" or check mark type of line, and it was moved up to the lighter side. I really was able to notice a difference on the one with the shadows, which could be made much darker for contrast.

I also enjoyed using the Saturation Adjustment because it brought out some warmer tones in the rocks for my "Framing" picture. It also made the terrazo tiles more orange in the background for my shadow picture.


The Black and White radial gradient overlay was a little bit surprising to me. I was able to do the "reverse" so that the darker part would be on the outer edges. I experimented with making lines in different directions so that the lightest part was where I wanted it to be. I guess the most surprising thing was that it did not seem to cover a white shirt at all on the lower right corner of my picture. I guess that I may need to review making masks and feathering to get better results.

The Black and White radial gradient overlay did seem to work very well with the picture of my cala lily close up. The overlay seemed to make the upper left corner of the white lily to appear more greenish. I really liked using the saturation level adjustment on the lily, too. It brought out some yellowish tints that I did not realize were there.

Doing these exercises was a delightful experience. Of course taking the photographs is the most fun, but even taking them to the digital darkroom of Photoshop was fun today, because most of the time it worked as expected, and even gave a few delightful surprises.

One thing to change for next time?

One thing that I hope can be changed for other classes....is the names and numbers of the assignments and projects...

I am getting so confused....

There are assignments numbered 1,2,3,etc.
And there are other Projects numbered 1,2,3, etc.

Tonight I am going around in circles...trying to find my gallery and zipped folder for Project #2 for the Nature Photography DOF...

I know that I am going to have to get better organized...

It seems that perhaps the assignments get us ready to do the Projects for which we have two weeks....

Also, having an assignment #4 due the same night as our main project #2 tonight seems like a lot...I wish the assignments could be staggered....

Anyway, it seems that there might be a better way to organize the assignments and projects....or maybe call them by different names...

Maybe there could be Exercises......and then Main Projects that take longer to do...

I am hoping to get everything turned in by midnight...we have class at 7:00p.m. this evening....

My Wild & Wonderful Week in Second Life

Well the start of the week was really wild because my avatar got caught in a trap when she went to rez some canvases for her photography show at the end of the week on Sheba Island. The developer Monmakr Allen had seen me when my avatar Texanna Schumann was out shopping in a mall.

It was a frightful experience being caught in a trap at the sandbox...and not able to get out...I found out later that it is a contraption that is used in some of the war zone sims in SL. My friend, who invited me to the sandbox reported the abusive behavior...because it happened to her when she teleported into the sandbox, too.

Well, It took a day or two to get over that shock....then my friend showed me how to go the create panel to rez a box...then to flatten it....and then to put a texture on it (one of my photographs that had been saved as a 1024 X 1024 Targa file). Then I "took" it back into my inventory.

The next few days I was placing the photography into the designated building....My friend helped me to make a bluebonnet textured "carpet" on a large 20 X 20 prim...we had to use two of them...Later we decided to make it into a grass texture...

I visited another exhibit and noticed that the artist had used an automatic greeter, so I went to one of my friends who is a scripter in Sl, and he had the "greeting mat" that would give out a note card which would have information about the artist/photographer, and would give a land mark.....so I wrote a brief explanation of who I am as a student at T.S.T.C. and then gave a landmark to the T.S.T.C. commons. I also added a tip jar with butterflies hovering around....and it had to be reshaped and a new texture was put on it.

I took the time to invite all of my friends and acquaintaces to the photography show. I was able to click on the name of my friends in the list, open up the profile, and then to drop the notecard invitation and the landmark for Sheba Island into their inventory. Fortunately, I had joined some art groups, and one of them was kind enough to send out a group notice to the members.

Then I made a special effort to hang around my exhibit space most of the day on Friday and Saturday. There were many of my friends who dropped in....and some asked to be teleported to my location. They were so encouraging and so appreciative of my work with the macro photography of floral subjects. Some of my photographer friends in SL gave me some critiques. Some were absolutely "stunned" with the beauty and the peaceful setting.

One lady said that it would be good if I could have some bird music in the background. She suggested that I add seating so that people could sit and look and feel the peace there. She also suggested that I could make the flowers available to people who do landscaping on the sims in SL.

Well, there were several people who bought the rose picture for L$250 and some bought the bluebonnet picture. One even bought the green carpet for L$300. Several people left tips ranging from L$10 to L$500 in thetip jars. I also rented a booth in the "Old Town Mall Area" and paid L$125. I took three paintings there and also set out the "greeter mats" and put out a tip jar with the butterflies..

All of this has been a wonderful experience for me, and it reminds me of the days when I really was into the art shows and promoting the arts.

The only thing now is that I am struggling to get the Depth of Field assignment done for Monday night. My camera is limited to F2.8 to F8, and I am struggling to get some good Depth of Field shots. I know it will take lots of practice to get good at this.

Revising my BlogSpot...Moved to New URL

Just today I was noticing that I needed to change the URL of my blog for T.S.T.C. Virtual Campus Special Topics Photography class. I realized that it should be my avatar's first name + VCampusJournal and then the blogspot address.

So I have created another blogspot and it is as follows:

http://texannasvcampusjournal.blogspot.com/


I have transferred the blogs here to the new URL and I will be using it in the future as I record my journey through Second Life as it relates to photography. Please check out my new blog address.

Targa 1024

I am finding that the preferred format for Second Life is a Targa file....and the largest resolution is 1024. I was chatting with a professional artist and photographer in Second Life and that was the information that he gave me.

I have visited several art shows and I really like th fine resolution that I see on the pictures, although some of them take a while to rez. I have also noticed that for some galleries the hovering text says that the pictures can be resized. I like that feature, so when I asked my friend about it, he said to save my files as Targa 1024 X 1024 pixels. Then I would upload the file. I would then create a black canvas prim and put the picture on one side of it.

He was taking me through an impromptu tutorial on it and I was taking notes, but I got lost between the stretching, selecting off, and then reselecting the prim. I want to try to do it again soon, however, because I have been invited to show some photography and art at a grand opening. Fortunately, my friend Lowri Mills says that she can help me...and there may be a few others who will help get the art show together.

I have invited some photographers from the Eastland Spin to join me in the efforts...and there may be a few classmates who would also like to show with us...in about two weeks. Fortunately we have some pictures from our assignments...and past photo shoots that may be just right for the occasion.

Anyway, it is a new adventure...and I am excited about it....You are welcome to comment....and to add what you have found about formats and resolution in SL.

Weather Wise

With the spring comes so many surprises when it comes to weather conditions. My intention was to go to a spring "fly in" at Ranger this last weekend for the celebration of the historical marker. I was just envisioning planes of all sorts and colors landing in the little air field. When the day came, however, there had been so much rain that planes could not land there. I thought perhaps some had landed in Eastland instead, so I went over there after the dedication of the marker, but did not find any planes there either. So I changed my plans for my photography assignment.



I decided that I would try to photograph some wild flowers that grow along the sides of the road near my house. I went walking several mornings and found the wind to be blowing....and the flowers were bobbing their heads in rhythm with the wind. I tried holding the stems of some of them, and found that my hand was in the picture. I did snap several pictures and was hoping for the best. I was using the macro settings, too, so I needed some stillness....though I did not have a tripod.



Later I was talking to my friend, who is also taking the class, and she said that she had found a cardboard box, or some other type of temporary shield helps to keep the wind off the flowers for a still photograph.



Anyway, I have found that there are many surprises when it comes to the weather in the spring, so it is a good idea to allow myself several photoshoots to get the right lighting conditions and not so much wind in the flowers.



Photography is always a challenge and I have enjoyed finding ways to capture some beauty in wild flowers this week, even with the surprises in the weather.

Photographic Journal

It has been so much fun to travel lots of places and to meet lots of people in Second Life. I am finding that I can use my camera control to zoom in on things and to change the perspective. That has REALLY helped when I go shopping...I don't have to fly around all over the place...lol

The thing that I am enjoying is doing a photographic journal of the places I visit and the friends I meet. I have found that I can save them to the hard drive of my computer. Then I can bring them into Second Life later if I wish.

I have been to some beautiful parks and some incredible buildings, so I take pictures of myself in the setting. I have also found some interesting kinds of pose balls and have taken a picture of myself reading, relaxing, or just posing for a picture.

Today I took a picture of my friend Lowri Mills and myself at her Mission house in Second Life. We compared our heights and our gestures.

Anyway I am having a lot of fun with the camera controls. It does take some practice, but it is well worth the time and effort. As you know you press down the Alt key as you roll your mouse as you click on an object to center it. Then you can roll in or out to zoom. By adding the Control key you can pan around the scene...up or down and around. This has been one of the neatest tools that I have found...and it really helps to get the scene composed the way I want it so that I can click on the "Snapshot" button at the bottom of the page and then save it to my own computer.

You are welcome to comment on this idea at the bottom of the blog. I would be interested to know your thoughts and ideas about it.

Meeting and Greeting

I am having a great time going places and meeting people in Second Life. I have met many artists, photographers, and musicians. I have found that when I meet the person I can right-click on them to check out their profile. If it mentions art or photography I may strike up a conversation with them, either in Chat, which everyone in the room can read; or by IM,which only the person can read. It is like calling them on their cell phone.

Then when I am talking to the person, I can open up the last page under their profile which says "My Notes." Then I can type in where I met them, what their interests are and where their galleries are. These notes can only be read by the writer of the notes.

Then I have also organized my calling cards by putting a category for artists and drag their card into that file. I also have a folder in my landmarks for artists and photographers.

One other thing that I learned from Lowri Mills is that we can copy the IM's or the Chat to a note card...or we could even save it to Word on our computer. We can do that by highlighting the text we want to copy and then do a "Control+C" to copy it. Then open the Word Document, or go to Create>Note Card and open it up. Then just do a "Control+V" to copy it.

These are just a few little tricks that are helping me to keep up with my contacts better. I am finding that I have so many friends that I soon forget what they do if I do not take notes on them. Then there is the possibility of meeting them again an resuming the conversation.

I would be happy for others to comment on this to see if it works for you. I am also interested in learning things that you have found to help us be more successful in Second Life.

What's in a Name?

It has been interesting for me to see the various names chosen by members of our T.S.T.C. on-line Second Life special topics photography class. We recognize the T.S.T.C. Staff by the last name of "Techsan." For me that seems close to technician, and I think it is an interesting choice. Maybe they can explain that to us a little more. We appreciate the technical skills that our teachers have and are willing to share with us in such a dedicated way.


When I chose my own name "Texanna Schumann" I was first thinking that I was a Texan, and I love the name Anna, so I put them together for "Texanna." Also, I think the name "Texanna" has a happy sound to it, and I envision my character in Second Life as being a happy, healthy, wholesome kind of girl. The name "Schumann" as a last name appealed to me because it seems to be a German name, which is part of my Real Life relative experience.


I would be interested to know more about the experience of choosing a name for my classmates and our teachers. It's such an interesting process and I'm sure there may be a story behind each one. I welcome all of you to make comments to my blog and share those experiences.


Let's see, in the meantime I will be wondering about Jarrod Kappler, Marisol Noel, Street Cortes, Lowri Mills, Subatomic Sands, Keny watanabe, Trillian Gynoid, Maxi Dassin, Kameko Suising, and Stiletto Snook. I invite all of you to share your experience of choosing a name for Second Life.

My First Official Class in Second Life

This evening on May 21, 2007 at 7:00p.m. C.S.T. we had our first official Special Topics Photography class for the T.S.T.C. Virtual Campus in Second Life. We gathered in the Pit area of the Commons at our T.S.T.C. campus, and our teacher Mr. Kevin Brown gave us an invitation to come over to our classroom. We went into the classroom and he instructed us to sit on the high blue bar stools.

We soon learned that we could raise our hands by using the "Page Up" command. We chuckled as our hands began to wave wildly if our teacher did not answer us immediately. When he looked up and saw us, then we could "Page Down" to put our hands down. He invited us to ask questions about each new idea that was presented.

After answering some questions about Second Life, our instructor presented a slide show about our rules for class. Then he asked us to click on a podium near the screen to get our first assignment, which was to create a journal in the form of a blog. The second assignment was from a different podium and it was to create a series of pictures in color and in black and white. The main idea for the assignment is to use lighting to create different moods.

Then after class we looked at the gallery exhibit of the black and white photography of master photographer Alfred Stiegletz. We were fascinated by the photographs of Georgia O'Keeffee in her younger days. Alfred's Story is fascinating: http://www.profotos.com/education/referencedesk/masters/masters/alfredstieglitz/alfredstieglitz.shtml

I am excited about taking this special topics class and using the T.S.T.C. Virtual Campus classroom. I will have to say that it was a bit of a challenge for me to keep up with all of the class conversation; put the name titler into my T.S.T.C. folder; type "white title" and my real name; find the assignments on the podiums, and zoom in on the projector screen. I felt like I was juggling part of the time.

Fortunately I was already familiar with many of the Second Life Functions such as creating a folder and moving things into it. I have also found it helpful to create a second inventory list so I can drag things from one to the other easily.

Well, this is the first part of the assignment that will be due next Monday. In the next few days I will be working on the photograph series to show different moods with light and shadows. I think I will enjoy this assignment.